do vampires really exist ?

Hmm... oddly enough I think I experianced soemthing like that once. Or at least a very odd coincidence. I was on a bus in Pittsburgh whe na woman who didn't normally ride that route got on. A little while later I woke up again just as she was getting off the bus, along with appearently, everyone else on the bus. Several people complainedthey missed their stops, and I always wondered what happened that twelve people fell asleep simultainously...

That is a strange story Baronlveagh. The skeptic side of me would question whether the bus itself was leaking fumes into the passenger area that knocked eveyone out though.

As far as I know, the baobhan sith are never mentioned in old literature or folktales as actual vampires, though they have some similarities. I was brought up in the lowlands, though, so if anyone knows an old source where they have these attributes I am happy to be corrected. Rather; they evolved into vampires when books about vampires became part of popular culture and vampire lovers were looking for ancient origins of the myths and found the baobhan to be close.

Liz, no dear, no real vamps. Had this discussion with someone a few weeks ago. Think about this; if a "real" folks on the planet, were actually blood dependant beings. Would the planet be as over crowded as it is? No.

In addition to the Porphoryia (Renfield's Syndrome) sufferers there are fetishist vampires (Sanguinarians /Haemogoblins) who do indulge in blood-drinking (though small amounts usually extracted by syringe or razor cuts.) Some apparently ask for medical certificates first from their 'victims' from fears of Hepatitis, HIV etc.
There have also been a number of murderers with blood fascinations - Elisabeth Bathory, Gilles de Rais etc. though apart from modern documented cases, it is difficult to say how much of these stories is folklore.
The disease Tuberculosis also had vampiric connections. The wasting away of sufferers attributed to vampiric attack. In some places, including I beleieve New England, those who died from consumption were exhumed by their families and laying rites such as beheading, staking, garlanding with garlic etc. may have been performed to prevent the dead from rising and preying on them. More ghoulish however was the belief that belief that to remove the deceased's heart, dry and grind into a powder/ brew which would then be consumed would be protection from them also becoming a victim of the Consumption.

Due to be released in October 2009 (just in time for Halloween) is a large book entitled The Element Encyclopedia of Vampires by Theresa Cheung, which thoroughly covers different aspects of folkloric, fictional, psychic and 'living vampire' lore.

I find the evolution of the vampire very interesting. If you look at some older stories concerning vampires, they often look like decomposing corpses but over time the stories have come to give them supernatural powers, the ability to shape shift and (if you are familiar with Twillight) have them appear very attractive. When did our perceptions change and what changed it? Living vampires?

A "vampire plague" seems to have rolled back and forth across Central and Eastern Europe from circa 1690 until around 1750, throwing out occasional tendrils into Western Germany and even Britain. No matter what was going on the Slavic languages had to create a new word - in English, "Undead" - to even partially categorize it.

Moreover, as soon as this infection petered out in Europe it almost immediately re-appeared on the other side of the Atlantic, in Connecticut and Rhode Island, where it continued for the next 140-plus years.

A year late to the conversation, but I just debuted my company's first published book, The Vampire Sonnets, at a
Mystical Bloodlust Convention in Lexington, KY at the end
of October. I met some people who believe they are vampires.

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